Former Strictly Come Dancing professional James Jordan has denied that he had an affair while he was still in a relationship with his ex-wife, Ola Jordan. Appearing on The Jeremy Vine Show, the 48-year-old said: 'There was no affair.'
James and Ola, 44, are both best known as pro dancers on the BBC programme, with James leaving in 2013 and Ola two years later. They married in 2003, but earlier this year the couple announced they had separated. A representative said in a statement: 'It is with great sadness that I can confirm that James and Ola began a trial separation some time ago. Their shared priority remains co-parenting their daughter, Ella, and they are committed to putting her well-being first.'
Affair allegations
A few months later, it was alleged that James had cheated on Ola with another dancer, and that she had found out after receiving a call from the woman's ex-husband. A source reportedly told The Sun: 'Ola was stunned, she said she felt like her whole world was imploding as he spoke. Jamie told her that she deserved to know what had been going on, he said she needed to know everything.'
During the Channel 5 programme, James appeared alongside fellow former Strictly pro Brendan Cole. Host Jeremy Vine, 61, brought up that when James was a celebrity contestant on Strictly, he and Ola were married at the time. 'But then I saw you'd broken up!' Jeremy said bluntly.
James's response
James replied: 'Yes, I moved out, which was obviously in the press. I haven't really spoken about it much because I always said that I wouldn't speak about it because I don't feel it's fair to speak about it unless Ola would be here as well.'
When the presenter raised the report that James had an affair and that Ola had received a phone call from the woman's ex-husband, James said: 'Apparently so. I don't know if that's true or not.' Brendan interjected: 'It's hard to have an affair if you've moved out.' James continued: 'There was no affair. I have grown closer to someone since… I moved out back in June, so yeah.'
Statement planned
Jeremy admitted: 'I'm not any good at these interviews.' James replied: 'The problem is if I say nothing, it makes me look guilty. If I say something, it looks like I'm being defensive. So for me it's kind of a lose-lose. So I will at some point put a statement out on my social media to try and clarify what's been going on. I don't feel your show's long enough to explain the whole thing.'
A few days earlier, Ola spoke to Hello! magazine about their split and the cheating allegations, saying: 'As a woman you know these things in your gut but now my worst fears have been confirmed, I'm utterly devastated.' A spokesperson for James told the magazine: 'I can confirm that James and Polina have grown closer in recent weeks since separating from their respective partners.'
